Room A65
by Nora-1973
Summary: A murder on an oil platform. EC friendship and later romance. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Nothing recognisable is mine.

Pairing: E/C

Rating: T

A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed my last story, "Honey, I'm home."

* * *

They had been paged two hours ago and since then were on their way to the crime scene – first by car, then by boat. Horatio had called them from the oil platform on which the murder had taken place and bid them make haste. 

They arrived, slightly sunburnt and a little exhausted, glad to escape into the shadowy and slightly cooler building block in the middle of the sea. Horatio met them halfway and informed them about the present state of investigation.

A manual worker had been shot – middle aged, married, two kids. His co-worker had found him in his quarters. Apparently, he had not shown up for his shift and people got worried.

Calleigh and Eric made their way to the victim's quarters. The air was humid and peculiarly musty. Eric remarked to the only woman present besides Calleigh, a Ms Eondt – one of the company's watch dogs, with short hair and a slightly grim face –

"Air-condition not working?"

The woman raised an eyebrow in reply and halted on a crossover, then pointed into a hallway to her right.

"Room A65, I will leave you to do your jobs now."

Without further attempt at conversation she vaporized leaving an amused ballistics specialist and a slightly offended Eric Delko. The latter shook his head at the woman's odd behaviour.

"My charms seem to lose their power."

Calleigh could not repress her laughter, "Nah, don't worry. She's just not the type to be _womanized_."

Eric chuckled and followed the pretty blonde. They started with the usual procedure, taking finger prints and pictures. The guy, a Mr Stephen Hondras, had been hit twice. A third bullet had smacked into the bed-post. Calleigh identified the weapon as a 45, nothing out of the ordinary. Eric found a cell phone and some bills; and evidence of sexual intercourse.

"The guy wasn't too lonely, I suppose."

When they had finished, Calleigh called Horatio retrieving permission to return to the lab. They packed their stuff and Eric shouldered most of the evidence.

"Remind me to charge you extra backrubs once we're back."

"Once I feel my toes again."

Eric wanted to comment on her footwear, but then decided against it as he loved watching her stalk through the labs. The clapping made him aware of her presence whenever she was nearby, and curiously he always felt at ease upon hearing it.

Back at the lab, Calleigh relieved Eric of half of the bags dumping them on Valera's desk. She quickly wrote a note thanking the DNA analyst for doing the scans as quickly as possible.

"She's gonna hate you for that."

"She won't. I signed with Eric Delko."

"How thoughtful."

"I know," she reached for the bags containing the bullets and ushered Eric outside, "and now, I have some work to do."

Eric quickly reached out and hindered her from closing the door straight into his face. "No fair!" After a day of hot, sweaty team-work and friendly banter, he would not be bereft of her companionship so easily. "I remember a promise of backrubs." He threw in what came suspiciously close to a pout and knew Calleigh was lost.

"You're like a two-year old."

"No getting side-tracked. One hour, my apartment – you may bring pizza."

"Alright, but I decide on the channel."

"We'll see."

_10:23pm_

Calleigh was late and how she knew Eric she would have to pay bitterly. Come to think of it, he still owed her for drying one of her woollen shirts. Grabbing the pizzas and her notes, she quickly made it inside. He was sitting in front of the telly, freshly showered and looking very cosy from her point of view.

"I see you missed me terribly."

"In fact, I did." He retorted deadpanned.

Calleigh blinked, thrice; cleared her throat and finally retrieved sense enough to come up with an excuse.

"Yeah, I forgot time. I'll just shower and be back in a moment." And she was. Plopping down onto the sofa, she snatched a slice of the pizza and grabbed the remote. "The weather channel!"

Eric sighed. He wasn't particularly fond of her taste matters TV, but was content to sit beside her for the time being. Besides he was too tired to concentrate. Moments later he fell asleep. Calleigh turned down the volume and stretched heartily. "Guess that means I escaped my duty once again." And had Eric had any suspicion, he might have detected a plan underneath her bambi-looks.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you soooooo much for your reviews!!! Especial thanks to my wonderful beta, Jodie. You're too good to be true.

* * *

Calleigh was sat in front of a steaming cup of coffee when Eric finally showed up in his kitchen the next morning. The alarm was sat for 7 o'clock but it was now almost 7:30. Eric bristled at her fresh and lively morning appearance; he was not too fond of early rising.

"Coffee?" he mumbled.

Calleigh looked up from her notes and the newspaper she was reading simultaneously and pointed to his left. "Right behind you." He watched her fingertips grazing along the page before he sharply turned around to get himself a cup of hot caffeine.  


"Ugh," he muttered upon his first sip.

"The press has already gotten wind of the murder. There's an article on page four with a detailed description of the company. Apparently, there was a similar unsolved case three years ago. Ever heard of it?"

"Nope," he sat down _very_ gracefully. "What happened?"

"A man was killed, shot in fact. His body was found only a week after his wife reported him as missing."

"How come?"

"He was attached to," Calleigh searched for the passage, "one of the steel legs, tied up with a rope. The sea must have washed away the evidence. There were few suspects, though some believed it had to do with a Mexican oil tanker that had docked two weeks prior."

Eric grunted a reply, fishing for a muffin and his keys. "We'll be late."

"Not my fault," she paused, before adding a sarcastic, "again."

"Not everyone enjoys hopping around at six o'clock like you do and, by the way, you only can do it because I do all the hard work anyway." He pointed to his back.

"Poor baby." She patted his shoulder, while slipping on her high-heels.

"Poor indeed. Now, come get your things."

_8:12 a.m. CSI headquarters_

"You're late," Horatio stated matter-of-factly.

Calleigh raised her hands, "Don't look at me."

Eric shrugged sheepishly and ran off to find the coffee machine. He was not at his best in the morning and everyone knew about it, though few showed much compassion. Still, he was one of the top forensic experts and most forgave him his grumpy mood.

Horatio pointed to the newspaper Cal was carrying. "You've read it already."

"Yes, seems like this case has a history."

"Will you two be fine? I can't dispense another man right now with so many open cases at our hands."

"We'll be fine, don't worry."

Horatio reached out to her, thanking her silently for not making this a problem. "Call me when you need help."

"I will."

"Alright." He nodded and slipped away. In his stead, a disgruntled Eric reappeared.

"Valera hates me."

Calleigh snorted, "You want me to talk to her later?"

"You'd better, because otherwise she'll have my head."

"And we can't have that."

"No," he replied, sulkily shooting her a silly smile as he wandered slowly over to her.

Calleigh thrust the fingerprints they took yesterday into his waiting hands. "Will an hour suffice?"

"It should, I've only found a few prints and most of them seem to be the victim's."

"Okay, then let's meet in an hour. Meanwhile, I'll try to catch up on this old case, hopefully the connection will remain strong."

"All right, see you in a bit."

_9:30 a.m.  
_

Eric was on his way to Calleigh's lab when Alexx paged him. He turned around and met his colleague halfway. "Alexx paged you too?" he asked her as they continued to walk.  


Calleigh nodded and they both entered the autopsy room.

"Hey kids!"

"Hey Alexx," Calleigh chimed in.

Eric added, "You've got something for us?"

"Yes, the victim had a white substance beneath his finger nails; probably cocaine. I've sent it to Valera for you."

"Great," Eric commented.

Alexx looked up, but Calleigh motioned for her to continue. "Otherwise, he seemed to have been in perfect health. The two bullets hit him in the chest; already the first would have been lethal. Someone wanted to be on the safe-side."

Eric spoke up then, "We've found evidence of sexual intercourse, any hint as to his partner?"

"Maybe, he has a hickey right here. I've found fungal spores on it. If you find a woman who has or had been infected with Mycosis Fungoids, she's the one. The spores damage the pulmonary function, therefore the person you're seeking may have problems breathing. In any case, if you can bring me her toothbrush or lipstick, I should be able to identify her for certain."

"Right thanks," Eric added, picking up the file Alexx had placed on the desk, flicking through the images quickly before they exited the Morgue. A renewed sense of determination filled his body, which was always the case when they got deeper into a subject matter.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks to Jodie, my beta. And to my reviewers as well of course.

* * *

They had been interrogating the wife of Mr. Hondras for an hour, but finally agreed that she would not be much help in solving the case. She said that her husband visited her and the children thrice a year, which was quite normal for those occupying the same job as he did. Upon being asked whether Mr. Hondras had had an affair of which she knew, she got angry and denied even the possibility. On the basis of the gained evidence, both CSI's knew better though.

_6:13 p.m._

Eric watched Calleigh working on some evidence from a safe distance. From their first meeting until now they had become close friends. Lately, however, there was something else. He knew that it was there, and he supposed she knew as well. Although there were days when nothing out of the ordinary happened, there were also those days on which a bystander could cut the tension in the air with a knife. It was terribly frustrating. But it was also tremendously exciting.

He slowly walked over to her, fearing an unwelcome discovery, and silently entered her lab. She was too focused to notice his entrance; so he waited until she finished the examination of the bullet she held in hand before making her aware of his presence.

So as not to scare her, he walked over and quietly greeted her. "Hi."

"Hi." The tone of her voice reflected the fatigue after a long and busy day.

"I've got some matches for the fingerprints," he said, catching her mood.

She raised her brow and motioned for him to take a seat.

"Most were – as I suspected – Mr. Hondras's, however there were also some for which I had no matching copies. Ms. Eondt and the colleague who found the corpse were there for certain. We've got ten matches."

"That's interesting." She paused; for effect, he was certain, and almost smiled. "You see, I checked the list of employees and the amount of women on the platform equals three."

"And as I found no prints of the other two –"

"– she is suspected of being the mistress."

Thinking of the balding Mr Hondras, Calleigh added, "_You_ were clearly not her type."

Eric returned the smile she shot him and, as their eyes locked, a pause ensued that seemed strangely out of the ordinary. It was as if all of their senses multiplied and numbed simultaneously. His hand switched, and as he retrieved it, he brushed hers which were placed very innocently on the table next to his. She jerked them back, "I've got some good news as well." She interjected, in a curiously high pitched voice. "The gun used for both murders is one and the same. Thus, it seems very likely that the two cases stand in connection. We're officially searching for a repeat offender."

Eric nodded. "I'll apply for a warrant to retrieve Ms Eondt's toothbrush. What with the fingerprints I found it should not take too long to be here."

"So that means back to the platform tomorrow." She was not looking forward to the trip and, judging by his looks, he was not too happy either.

"Yeah." He searched for eye contact, but got none. "We should probably also question Ms. Eondt and that colleague …" he searched for the name.

"Christopher Tolston?"

"Yes."

Another pause ensued and though Calleigh busied her hands, shifting material to and fro, she could not prevent its lasting. Eric reached out and steadied her.

"Will you be –." He had wanted to say 'home later on', but he checked himself just in time, "at my place tonight?" He had asked her that question probably a hundred times before but, somehow, tonight it implied more.

"I don't know."

He faltered and let go of her hands.

"I don't know," she said again, making him feel the insecurity she experienced whenever it came to discussions of _them_.

He seemed to get it now. His eyes came back up and collided with hers. She had taken hold of his hands, but before he could act upon it, her touch was a mere remembrance.

"Just think about it," he added eventually.

It was her turn to nod and his to bend forward and place a kiss on her cheek.

When he was gone, she breathed out audibly and whispered, "Oh, God. Oh, God., Oh, God!" Her head came down upon her hands and the day that had begun so cheerfully seemed loaded with weighty decisions now. _Where had come all this from?_


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks to the ever wonderful Jodie, my beta and a great help.

* * *

Eric was tired. It was almost midnight and she still had not shown up. There was a part of him that worried about her, a part that was terribly frustrated, but a bigger part still felt terribly hopeful. If he was honest with himself, the situation with Cal was slowly killing him. He had had crushes before, but somehow his affection for her ran deeper. And there was nothing he could do about it. It was all in Calleigh's hands, and, apparently, she had decided against him. 

He left the lights on and lay down. They would go to the platform tomorrow and he needed the sleep. His eyelids felt heavy and his entire body seemed to relax for the first time. He sighed, huffed and rolled onto his side. _Argh!_

Suddenly he heard the familiar, though a bit unstable, clicking of Cal's shoes. He heard a thud and someone cursed. It was her, definitely. She seemed to have trouble unlocking the door. Eric stood up and opened the door a slit.

Calleigh's bag lay half emptied on his doorstep. She had kneeled down and was trying to open the door with the keys to their hummer. He saw her grin slightly when the door gave away, probably attributing it to her doing. She stood up as well, clinging to the doorframe, and came eye to eye with the man she had tried to bring up the guts to face. She offered what always worked best with him, the batting of her eyelashes.

He batted back.

_OK_ – So it didn't work this time.

She cleared her throat and licked the mouth that had gone dry. Bingo! A small smile spread and she slurred, "Knock, knock!"

Eric had imagined all kinds of scenarios, but he had not expected to encounter a hammered Calleigh. There was Calleigh in his bed, and on his couch and yeah, okay, against the wall; but not Calleigh sick in his bathroom. He told himself that she at least had the grace to show up.

"Who's there?"

She obviously tried to think of something grand to say, but words eluded her.

Opening the door wider he offered, "Come inside?"

She nodded and reached down to retrieve her things. Once inside, he helped her out of her shoes – a very funny experience, except not – and guided her towards the bedroom. She lay down thankfully and almost immediately closed her eyes. He sat down beside her and tucked her in. When he brushed aside a loose strand of hair, she leaned over and mumbled, "I thought about it, Eric." He held his breath, but nothing more came.

_7:00 a.m._

The buzzing sound of an alarm clock awoke her the next morning. Her head ached considerably and she yelled for it to stop in annoyance. She sat up and switched the alarm on 'snooze' once again. There was still plenty of time, or so she thought, because the next thing she noticed was the cup of coffee Eric shoved under her nose.

"Morning!" He said cheerfully.

"Ow, God!" She wanted to yell at him, but remembered in time what had happened yesterday. Reaching out to take the steaming liquid she whispered, "Thanks."

They looked at each other and a companionable silence evolved. Eventually, Eric told her to shower and be ready in half an hour. Horatio had organized a transfer to the platform for 8 o'clock.

She promised she would be ready, but just to make sure, Eric stayed until she had gotten out of the bed. Twenty minutes later, she emerged freshly washed and clad in black trousers and a green shirt. She plopped down next to him on the couch.

Eric looked up and offered her another smile. The shirt was one of his favorites. He had come to the conclusion that her coming to him last night was what he hoped to be a sort of confession. She had said that she had thought about them, and though she obviously had not been very sure of herself, eventually she had shown up.

"They faxed me the search warrant for Ms. Eondt's quarters," he told her. "We'll also be able to talk to Tolston today, provided that he cooperates."

Calleigh nodded and let her head fall back. Reopening her eyes she sighed, "Eric, I'm sorry for last night."

"For what exactly?" he wanted to know for certain.

"For showing up on your doorstep as I did."

He took a deep breath and let her words sank in. "But you came."

"Yes."

"And you wanted to come."

"Yes."

"Good."

"Good."

"Right."

"Yeah," she added. "It's just… that I'm afraid." She paused, nervously fiddling with the hem of her shirt. "And then I went to this bar and somehow one thing led to the other. I'm not the type to get drunk."

"I know." And he did, he knew about her past, her father. She must have been doing some serious contemplating. "I can't promise you that this'll work out," he pointed at them, "but I'll be damned if we'll go on as we do." He continued, "You don't know what you're doing to me."

Her eyes fluttered upwards, "I – I know you're my best friend. I don't want to jeopardize our friendship. Didn't it feel right to be friends?"

"Cal, I was never just your friend."

"Yeah, alright. So, what? We have sex and get over and done with it?"

"It's not just about sex." He had to put a stop to the thoughts she was conjuring up. "It's about … the future; that someone you want to spend the rest of your life with."

"What makes you so certain of the latter?"

Eric knew his past would sooner or later get involved in the subject matter. He was not particularly known for his steadiness. "You'll just have to trust me–"

"I trust you," she cut him off, voice adamant.

"With your heart?"

He had hit a nerve. She tensed slightly and put a pause to the verbal battle going on. "I want to. I really do."

"Question is; do you want it enough to give us a chance?"

Another pause evolved. She looked up at him, at the hands that itched to take hold of hers, and the mouth she had dreamed about. "Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes," her voiced hitched slightly. "I want to be with you."

Eric nodded slowly. He cautiously leaned forward and tugged her towards him. Her head settled beneath his chin and their hands came to rest on each other. "Thank God."

A small giggle escaped Calleigh at that and she jovially punched him. Both felt terribly relieved by what had been said, as if a burden had been taken off of their shoulders.

A clock chimed in the background

"We'll have to go soon."

"I know." But she didn't move. Eric placed a kiss on her head, quite satisfied at having her in his arms for a bit longer. She leaned back to get a better view and let one of her hands travel to his face. She immediately identified the mental victory dance his ego celebrated and knew his mind was somewhere totally else already. A familiar knot formed inside of her stomach and she sat straight. "Just for the record," she leaned in, "I'm the boss in this relationship."

He just had enough time to breath out, "as long as I get bonuses," before their lips met and his hands pressed her hard against him. It was quite surprising that she felt so small and frail in the end. No one who had known her would attribute those words to her. She could be a lion if she needed to be. Maybe it was surprising, because this time she clearly wasn't in charge of the situation. He sensed the desperateness in her moves and the excitement in her nervously wandering hands.

She tugged at his shirt and Eric hissed when her hands came in contact with his naked skin. His arms shot out and captured her fingers. "You don't want to go there just yet."

She pulled back, lips swollen and eyes blurred.

"Seriously, as much as I want to, we have to go."

She bit her lip and huffed, "Alright."

"You'll have to move off me."

"Yeah," she stood up and righted her clothes.

Eric knew she was set back and hugged her, "We'll make up for it."

She leaned against him and smiled. "You better."


	5. Chapter 5

Thx to Jodie, who really knows everything. Kind of scary. ... :-P

* * *

They had caught the transfer in the end, though Calleigh was forced to apply desperate measures. As she was in charge, she had taken on the responsibility to drive them to the arranged site. However, Eric couldn't keep his hands to himself and, by the third time his fingers had crossed the invisible barrier she had drawn, she had banned him to the backseat. Once they were on the ship, Eric was back to posing as the professional again. 

They saw the platform from afar and recognized a tanker attached to it. Out of curiosity, Eric questioned their guide how long these ships tended to stay docked.

"One or two days at the most", the guide answered and Eric exchanged a knowing glance with Calleigh.

"Can the tanker's crew come aboard the platform?" she enquired. Both felt that their list of suspects was in danger of being enlarged by the dozens.

"Yes, they can, but few do."

"Do they by any chance report in before entering the platform?"

"Ms. Eondt takes their names. They have to pass a security checkpoint." Both nodded in relief.

They had arrived and stepped onto the open-air elevator. Their upward journey began, whilst their guide tied the boat to the platform waving his walkie-talkie to indicate that he would be ready once they wanted to go home.

On entering the building block, they met a grouchy Ms. Eondt. "Back again, I see." She turned around, "How can I help you?"

"We have obtained a warrant for your quarters, Ms. Eondt," Eric told her.

"My quarters? Why would you want to search my rooms?"

A few workmen passed them and Calleigh interjected, "Could we go some where a little more private?"

Ms. Eondt turned her angry glare from one to the other. "Sure," and added icily, "follow me."

They stepped into an orange-grayish meeting room. A ventilator on the ceiling made slow, lonesome rounds and Calleigh couldn't help wrinkling her nose at the smell.

"So, I ask again, what do you want?"

"We have reason to believe that you had an affair with Mr. Hondras."

Ms. Eondt's features turned stiff and then grimaced. "This is ridiculous."

"A hickey on the torso of the victim held fungal spores. We need your toothbrush in order to clear you of any charge, but at the moment, your DNA is the only female one we've found."

Ms. Eondt's placid smile vaporized during this speech. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and walked up close to the two. "I cannot keep you from rummaging through my stuff, but I'm telling you." She let the words sink in, "You're wasting your time with me."

"Only one way to find out," Calleigh offered.

Although Eric had held out his hand, Ms. Eondt let the keys to her quarters fall to the floor. He picked them up and both watched as the woman fled angrily through the door that she had come in. Calleigh looked a little bit worried, but Eric's jovial rolling of his eyes at the woman's dramatic exist told her he was okay.

"I have a feeling she ain't so innocent," Calleigh stated in her sweet Southern accent.

Eric smiled at her, before moving to get the door. "Lady's first."

Before Calleigh passed him, she leaned in and whispered seductively, "Let's go find a room."

_1__1 a.m._

The toothbrush was soon in their possession, the only difficulty they had encountered was finding the right quarters as they all looked alike, and few had their original labeling. All in all, they had to admit that the rest of the suspect's goods looked commonplace. Hopefully, they would not have to start from scratch.

Christopher Tolston, the dead man's colleague and friend, awaited them afterwards. Back in the odorous room, he seemed relaxed and in good humor.

"Well, if that's not the two CSI's. Nice to have you back," his gaze lingered a bit longer on Calleigh than on Eric, which was enough to let the latter's blood boil. His jaw clenched slightly – a sign which told her that something had affected him deeply – and his grip on the chairback tightened. She let her gaze freeze on him until he caught it. He ignored it, however.

"Yeah," Eric stated. "It's always nice to get out of the city and somewhere where the air is fresh."

Tolston chuckled and waved his hand, "Ah, that's the sea; keeps the rust and mould in place. But it's nothing that would bother us."

Eric deciphered the man's challenge while Calleigh busied herself with feeling disgusted. There was something about CSIs which made them the cleanliest persons on the world. Maybe that was due to the reason that they actually new all the bacteria and stuff floating around personally. In order to stop her thoughts from becoming more and more disturbing, she quickly stepped forward and asked. "We found your fingerprints in Mr. Hondras's quarters, any reason why they would be there?"

"Of course. We were friends. We often played poker or watched TV together. You must have found them everywhere."

That was the answer they had expected, now on to the information they really wanted. "How close were you befriended?"

"I guess, we were more than colleagues, but I'm sure I don't know all his secrets."

"Do you know if he had had an affair?"

"Stephen? No, come on. Did you take a look at him?" He obviously found the fact highly amusing. "He had no chance with any of our three chicks."

"Why are you so sure of that?"

"Because." He seemed to take them seriously for the first time, "Because he was certainly not what could be called a ladies' man. He kept to himself and locked himself up most of the time. I'm the only one he let close. He would have told me if something that big had happened."

Eric focused on his speech, "There's no one else here who had a closer relationship with Mr. Hondras?"

"No," the man answered. "Absolutely not. Hell, he was like a hermit crab."

Eric exchanged a glance with Calleigh, "But we found further fingerprints, besides yours."

Mr. Tolston did not seem to believe them. He shook his head and smeared his sweaty hands into his trousers. "I don't have an explanation for those."

"Alright," Calleigh sighed. "Thank you. We'll call you as soon as we know something new." She couldn't get rid of him soon enough.

Tolston looked up and replied grateful. "That would be great."

Both CSI's stood up and once the door was shut Eric turned around and imitated the man. He stepped close to Calleigh and batted his eyes at her. "Oh, that would be great."

Calleigh chuckled and nudged him playfully in the side. "You jealous?"

"Like hell!" He moved closer and tugged her towards him. Their lips met briefly and what should have been a short reminder of the agreement they had come to turned into a battlefield of tongues and hands. Eric pushed her up against the door, making sure that no one could surprise them, while Calleigh started to unbutton his shirt. Her whimpers brought him to stop eventually, and he let her sink to the floor. His head came to rest upon hers. "I'm sorry."

Calleigh wiped off the lipstick he had smudged and let her head rest on his chest. Her hands wound around him and a sigh escaped her. "I love you."

Eric's soothing movements stilled and he pressed her so firmly against him that she had trouble breathing. He placed a flutter of kisses on her head, before whispering. "I love you too."


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Unbeta'd and I'm sorry for that! If you want the job, Jodie would share. :)_

_ Thanks for all the reviews!!!_

_

* * *

__MDPD, CSI __laboratory_

Calleigh hugged the paper bag closer as she stifled another yawn. They had returned half an hour ago, taking with them a copy of the list of visitors to the platform on both days of the murders. Each list contained ten names; most of them were similar as they comprised the crew of the _Traiton_, a Mexican oil tanker. The tanker docked regularly, but it was still suspicious that both murders were committed on days on which strangers came aboard the platform; especially as the victims were not known for their folksiness amongst the regular workers.

Calleigh entered the autopsy room singling out Alexx, who wore her white lab coat and magnifying glasses. She was bent over a corpse, and sighed as she washed off the last remains of visible bloodstreams.

Calleigh stepped into her field of vision and greeted her cheerfully, "Hey, Alexx."

"Hey!" Alexx returned her smile, stopped what she was doing and took off her rubber gloves. "How's the case coming along?"

"Oh, well. The workspace is in need of a re-do and we're actually lacking a suspect …" she trailed off.

"But?" Alexx eyed the paper bag she held distrustfully.

Calleigh laughed slightly as she handed her the evidence, "But you could probably provide us with one."

Alexx emptied the bag on her desk and examined the lipstick and toothbrush. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks a lot."

"Your welcome, hon. I'll bring you the results ASAP."

"Great!" Calleigh waved a goodbye and made her way back to the ballistics lab. She encountered a stressed out Valera, who juggled some samples she was threatening to lose. Calleigh took pity on her and enquired, "Need a hand with those?"

"One?" Valera asked ironically while already donning half of the stuff into her waiting hands. "Thanks."

"No prob. We're in a kind of low at the moment anyway."

"Lucky you." Valera commented absent mindedly while opening a door with her elbow.

Eventually, they made it safely upstairs and on her way out a sudden thought popped into Calleigh's mind. She had promised Eric to make the loads of work they've brought onto Valera's hands recently up to her, and this could be the symbolic offering of her little finger; "What do you think of coming over to my place after you're finished for today?" "You know," she continued, "we could order something Chinese, watch a chick movie?"

"You're not having a bad conscience, do you?"

"Yeah, well; that is, we both do; Eric and I."

"As wonderful as that sounds, you really need not do this. I'm a little grouchy," she waved her hands in a dismissive way, "but that has actually nothing to do with the hours I work."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Valera knitted her brow and one could easily read that she was battling something that bugged her acutely; "Alright, but this stays between us."

"Sure." Calleigh stepped a bit closer so as to enable Valera to talk more quietly.

Valera's mouth opened, but no words came out. She tried again, "It's Ryan."

"Ryan?" Calleigh asked astonished and a little bit louder than she intended, because suddenly all eyes were on them and Valera's head turned crimson. "Yeah, right." Calleigh continued as if nothing had happened. "I'll bring him the evidence." The people turned around again and continued bustling around with their samples and machines. "Ryan?" Calleigh whispered again though more quiet.

"Yes, Ryan!" Valera was pissed. "It's just that I thought; I don't know what I thought, but suddenly his eyes are all on Sam and I seem to barely exist. I brought him coffee; he didn't even raise his head to thank me."

"Oh!" So Calleigh was _not_ the expert to talk to concerning lab romances, or was it that people knew about Eric and her. She nervously scratched her forehead and panicked slightly. The logic part of her brain told her that she was being silly and that she should focus on Valera, but the fancy was there and it wouldn't go away.

"Ah, just forget about it. Actually, I don't even know if it's something serious." She began to arrange the paper bags and samples in order of priority. A sigh escaped her, "But I'll take you up on your offer anyway. It's probably the easiest way to get rid of those distracting thoughts." The last part was uttered in Ryan's direction, who was passing the corridor at exactly that moment.

_7:28 p.m. Cal's apartment_

"You've invited Valera?" asked an incredulous Eric.

"Yeah, we owe here."

"But not today! We could have had her over tomorrow, or the day – no the week – after tomorrow."

Calleigh stepped closer to Eric and wound her arms around his waist. He muttered something incomprehensible which came suspiciously close to "What one does for the woman one loves." The hands which he had propped up against the counter came to enclose around hers and he finally turned around.

As soon as their eyes met he was lost; his mouth came down upon hers and he kissed her with all the bent up passion he had had to suppress for an entire day. Her fingers teased his skin and he deepened the kiss, softly caressing all that was her. She was so special to him; her scent; her hair; her professionalism. When they came up for air, Cal muttered, "This was a bad plan."

"Mh?"

"How will I keep my hands off of you for a whole evening?"

Eric chuckled, "Should have thought of that a little sooner."

"Should've." Calleigh whispered while starting her assault on his neck.

"It was a nice gesture."

"I'm a nice person." She said from far away.

Eric groaned, "Don't be too nice or, or this secret won't remain a secret for long."

_Ding! Dong!_

"That's her."

"Yeah."

"Cal, we'll have to open the door."

"I know." She stopped what she was doing and righted Eric's clothes. "Let's go, greet our visitor."

Eric shot her one last longing glance and followed her into the hallway. This was going to be one long, long evening.

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_A/N: So, what do you think? I crave for your opinions. :)_


	7. Chapter 7

A/N, I: It's been a while since I updated this fic and I'm sorry for that. Hope you'll enjoy this regardless. My beta-reader is no-where to be found so all mistakes are mine for the moment. :)

A/N, II: Oh, and as I was too lazy to review under my account name, I've sent you my insights anonymoulsy under Nora73. Those who disabled anonymous reviews; I loved your stories nonetheless!

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A ray of sunlight radiated through the blinds when Calleigh woke up the next morning. Her long feet were tucked under Eric's who was still soundly asleep. One of his hands had made its way under her tank top; the other functioned as a pillow. Slowly, she turned around, letting her eyes briefly fall on the clock to assure herself that they had time left for a little cuddling.

Her thoughts strayed back to last night. Shortly before midnight, Valera had decided to hit the sack and, gentleman that he was, Eric had brought her home. In less than an hour he was back, loosing his clothes as he made his way under the covers of Calleigh's bed. And in the end, it really got to be a _long_ evening.

"What are you chuckling at?"

"Nothing."

"Then do it a bit quieter; someone's trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep."

Calleigh propped up on one of her hands and observed him dozing off again. She could not believe what had happened within the last two days. _Could it be that it all was really that easy?_ She leaned down and kissed him softly on the forehead before crawling out of bed. The arm weighing her down slackened and curled around her pillow.

Calleigh freshened up and headed towards the kitchen to make herself some coffee. Ten minutes later Eric followed suit.

"Hey, you up already?"

"As you decided to leave me alone." 

Calleigh smiled at him and motioned to the coffee behind her; somehow this had become a ritual of theirs. "You know, I have been thinking." 

He looked at her expectantly while grabbing a cup from the sink.

"If Ms Eondt takes the visitors' names, maybe she has access to their fingerprints too. After all, they do cross territorial waters."

"Mh, could be."

"I'll call her when we've turned in. Maybe those guys from the tanker were connected to the victim."

"Mh." Eric squished down beside her and hugged his coffee. One of her arms sneaked up on his back and slowly caressed the hair on his neck.

"Want me to drive?"

A slight nod was all the answer she got. His eyelids had closed upon her caress and his shoulders had relaxed, head carefully placed on the hands that lay on the table. Calleigh moved closer and some of her hair brushed over his arms. Though his eyes were still closed, he turned towards her, knowing exactly where she was headed even before her lips met his. They had never kissed so slow and sensual before and when it eventually ended both felt the lump that had formed in their throats. Eric's hands rested on her hips and he took a deep breath before he could separate himself from her.

_9 a.m. CSI laboratory_

Calleigh entered his office without knocking; the clapping of her heels announced her nonetheless. "Guess what."

He chuckled and turned around. "What?" He truly loved her enthusiasm.

"The copies Ms Eondt faxed me indicated that the prints you've found were indeed those of two of the _Traiton_'s crew members."

"Whoa. Does that mean –" both of their pagers went off simultaneously. 

"It's Alexx; let's go."

They found her soon enough in one of the autopsy rooms and enquired after the results she had.

"Yes, now what I found were traces of fungal spores; and her DNA is a match. She was his mistress and, what's all the more interesting, she's a drug addict."

Calleigh raised her brow and turned to Eric. "And as we found cocaine underneath his fingernails –"

Eric nodded. "– it'll be all the more interesting what Ms Eondt has to tell."

Alexx rolled her eyes at the two and thought about how pathetic they really were. She had never seen two colleagues so hopelessly in love with each other without having even the slightest clue as to it. It really made her wish she could just force them to admit their feelings and get over and done with it. 

_1:13 p.m. CSI investigation rooms_

"Ms Eondt, we've called you hither because we now have the evidence to prove that you were, in fact, Mr Hondras's mistress. Care to explain?"

Ms Eondt stared Eric down but, this time, he would not let loose. "We're waiting."

"Alright, alright." The woman murmured. "But can this please stay between us?"

Calleigh checked with Eric before replying, "We'll see what we can do."

The woman nodded and continued, "Yes, I've slept with Stephen. I'm not proud of it," her voice caught, "I only did it …"

"Because of the drugs?" Eric offered when she ended the eye-contact.

"What drugs?" Ms Eondt's head snatched up and the icy look was back. 

"Cocaine. You're test-results were positive."

Disbelief turned to anger and she leaned back, shaking her head. 

Calleigh tried to bolster her, "Ms Eondt, we've found your prints, the cocaine, and, without wanting to sound trite, it would be better for you if you talked to us."

A long silence ensued, yet finally she looked up again and said, "It wasn't me. I didn't kill Stephen."

"Give us something we can work on and we'll prove your innocence."

She pressed her lips together and exhaled deeply, "You don't know this from me." Leaning forward she added, "Stephen gave me the drugs; it was his way of returning my "favours". That's why I slept with him."

"He was your drug dealer?" Eric enquired.

"If you want to call him that; yes, he was."

"Do you know where he had the drugs from?"

"From the _Traiton_. I don't know how – or for that matter, why – he had anything to do with the tanker's crew members, but one day when I did a background check on them, Stephen told me to leave it be." "I remember his look and it frightened me. I know he wouldn't have hurt me, but I know a warning when I see it."

Calleigh and Eric glanced at each other. "Thank you, Ms Eondt," the latter replied finally. "We'll investigate further into the matter." "You're not allowed to leave the country though; you're still the closest connection we've got." At his nod, a police officer fetched the woman and guided her outside. 

Eric turned to Calleigh and scratched at his forehead.

"All clues point towards the _Traiton_," Calleigh stated matter-of-factly.

"Now, please don't tell me we have to go to this stupid platform once again."

"I'm sure I can figure something out."

"Great; I know why I keep you around."

Calleigh winked at him before she left the room made of glass. Someone still owed her a favour and if everything turned out right, they could be arresting the murderer tomorrow.

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A/N: So, what do you think? Oh, and if there are any wishes for the end, tell me, for it's near. :)


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